


Us Against The World

by chaoticrandomness



Category: Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bittersweet Ending, Fix-It, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-08-18 23:31:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8179901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticrandomness/pseuds/chaoticrandomness
Summary: Chisa Yukizome investigates a school and a murder.





	

Three of the people in the class I got assigned have either died or gone missing in the past week.

 

_There is something seriously, seriously wrong, for that many people to be missing in such a short timespan._

 

What’s even more disturbing is that no one in their class seems to care one bit that Hinata Hajime and Kuzuryuu Natsumi and Satou Yukira are all probably dead. All of the kids in my class know that three of their classmates left, but act like missing people are equivalent to the garbageman taking out the trash.

 

_I mean, to be fair, there are at least fifty people in that class and Natsumi only attended school for under a week before getting murdered…_

 

_Wait, if she was supposedly murdered by a random pervert, why hasn’t anyone retaliated?_

 

The news would probably mention someone dying, even if it was a creepy guy who conveniently fell down the stairs. Then again, the yakuza could’ve just swept their retaliation all under the rug…

 

_“My sister deserves to be here, not me.”_

 

_So if that’s the case, wouldn’t they want to broadcast the news that the man who killed their heiress is dead?_

 

I don’t know if the yakuza think like that, but there is definitely something weird behind these disappearances, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.

 

* * *

 

_Is lying about why I’m here really the best investigative method?_

 

_Munakata wanted you to lie about being a teacher and walk into the first unoccupied class, and by doing this, you can hide that you actually have no teaching qualifications and help his investigation of whatever the hell’s going on here…_

 

“I need to tell you guys something.” I say, as I finish going over the attendance. “I’m actually not a teacher, but a journalist conducting an investigation of Hope’s Peak.”

 

_Close enough. And the headmaster and steering committee don’t pay attention to what the Reserve Department does, so they won’t find out._

 

“Why aren’t you investigating the Main Course?” someone asks.

 

“The general public has an idea of what happens in the Main Course, and while the Reserve Department is heavily advertized, exactly what it teaches is unknown to the general public, so I thought I’d inform them.”

 

_Please, believe me. I need you to believe me…_

 

“Are you a Super High-School Level Journalist?” someone asks, and of everything that they could possibly be thinking right now…

 

“No, I’m not. If any of you want to be interviewed, please follow me into the hallway.” I answer, for the one thing the instruction manual said was to not tell any of the students that I used to go to school here, and there’s probably a reason why.

 

* * *

 

_“They said that I’d be able to get into the Main Course if my grades were high enough.”_

 

_“You know that they’ve been raising the price of a year here?”_

 

_“Kuzuryuu Natsumi thought she was better than all of us because she had a brother in the Main Course.”_

 

_“Satou Yukira thought she was better than us because she had a friend in the Main Course.”_

 

_“Will you help me get into the Main Course? Please, I need to be there…”_

 

If my interviews prove anything, it’s that the entire Reserve Department consists of insecure people who desperately want talent. However, none of these people seem to have any idea of why someone would murder Natsumi, Satou, and Hinata, or even who they were.

 

_You did have two people who were close to the deceased as ex-students… maybe three, if you count Nanami…_

 

_But according to the class list you got, Hinata was expelled, not murdered. Except if he was expelled, he probably had to have done something noticeable, but no one you talked to had any clue who he was, let alone if he did anything…._

 

I have a break tomorrow, so I guess I’ll find my students then, and see if they know anything.

 

* * *

 

I’m on my lunch break and trying to find my old class. It’s like our first day of school, except with a murder investigation hanging over us.

 

_Kyousuke, you wanted me to investigate the school, but I don’t think this is exactly what you expected me to dredge up…  and why am I calling you by your first name in my thoughts?_

 

“Instructor Yukizome?!” Koizumi exclaims, as I walk by a small courtyard. She’s sitting alone at a stone table, and I join her.

 

_I’m really sorry that I’m going to be talking to you about your best friend’s murder… how’s everyone?_

 

_Was this the place you used to eat with Satou?_

 

“We all thought you got transferred to a completely different school!”

 

“No, I’m still here, just in the Reserve Department.” I answer, as she takes a bite of her food. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m teaching your friend’s old class.”

 

_I’m also pretty sure someone killed her and the school covered it up._

 

Koizumi’s face pales, and it looks like she’s about to cry. I wish I had tissues, so I could give one to her and comfort her, but I’m still going to be interviewing her about Satou…

 

_Why are… they have a right to know. People have a right to know that there is something disturbing brewing under this school, and that’s why Kyousuke sent me here._

 

_But I won’t go about investigating in a hurtful manner._

 

“What was she like, your friend?” I ask, for easing her into the conversation is probably going to make her not feel as depressed about the subject…

 

“Yukira… was… um, really protective and passionate… I miss her, I didn’t…”

 

“You were the last person who saw her alive, weren’t you?”

 

“Yes, I was… she told me… I helped her…. I…”

 

_You helped her do what?_

 

I would’ve asked that, but Koizumi’s crying and trying to hide her tears. I cross over to her side of the table and hug her, for I did all this to her and should at least try to comfort her in return.

 

“It’s okay… Koizumi, it’s okay to cry after we lose someone we love, and wonder if we could’ve stopped it all…”

 

“...she did it because of me… she did it all for me.”

 

* * *

 

There’s a file of pictures in my office. I open the envelope, and am greeted by the smiles of my old class.

 

_Koizumi took this, didn’t she? Why would she give me her pictures if I made her cry?_

 

_Then again, maybe it’s a class-wide going-away gift… but who includes a… photo of Kuzuryuu Natsumi’s dead body in a present? Why would Koizumi even take this photo?_

 

_Unless…_

 

I need air. I need to stop feeling like my lungs are being crushed, for I wasn’t expecting any of my students to be _directly involved_ in a murder.

 

_“...she did it because of me…”_

 

_“...she did it for me…”_

 

_“I helped her…”_

 

I don’t know how I got here, but I’m standing in the middle of the headmaster’s office. Luckily, there’s no one here, but I need all of the information I can get on this case….

 

_The files should be in Kizakura’s desk, right? Except he, as far as I know, doesn’t have anything to do with the Reserve Department or the budget, but I’ll just grab everything I can see and hope he’s hungover tomorrow morning._

 

“Excuse me, miss, but what are you doing here?”

 

I look up from Kizakura’s desk drawer, and am greeted by an old man who I’ve never seen before.

 

“I’m the new cleaning lady! There was an alcohol smudge on this floor, but I’ll make it shine!” I blurt out, and he seems to be humored, for he’s smiling.

 

“Well, I hope you do just as well in our office.” he answers, as he escorts me into a meeting-room that I’ve never seen before. Thankfully, he also hasn’t noticed that I have at least five folders stuffed in my clothes.

 

“Which one is this again?”

 

“The Hope’s Peak Steering Committee.” he answers, before he exits the room, leaving me alone in a treasure-trove of information.

 

* * *

 

_Expenses for the current fiscal year have gone up ~300% due to the Hope Cultivation Project… we will create hope, and follow in the footsteps of Kamukura… building expenses are included on page 5…_

 

_What on earth is the Hope Cultivation Project, and why would it require so much money?_

 

I’ll look into that later. I just have to make two phone calls and hope Pekoyama shows up, and then I can figure out the rest of the giant mess brewing in the school.

 

_The files did say that she knew Kuzuryuu at some point, and she’s probably more likely to talk than he is… and please tell me that this is the right phone number…_

 

“Hello? Who is this?” a woman asks, and I am desperately hoping that she is Hinata Hajime’s mother.

 

“Mrs. Hinata? I’m calling about-”

 

“Oh, Hajime? Don’t worry about him, he’s been emailing me from Hope’s Peak.” she answers as Pekoyama walks towards me and sits down, and this either proves that he wasn’t expelled or someone’s been lying to his parents.

 

_Or both. Or it doesn’t prove anything, and I’m just being paranoid. Or…_

 

“Where are the bunnies?”

 

“They escaped because they saw a salad.” I answer, and I probably shouldn’t have lied to her just to secure this meeting, but I have to find out what exactly this school is hiding…

 

_I’m sorry that there are no cute animals… and you’re actually here because I want to talk to you about a murder._

 

“If there actually weren’t any bunnies, why did you invite me here, Instructor Yukizome?”

 

“How do you know Kuzuryuu Natsumi?”

 

She doesn’t answer. Why was I expecting her to answer? The only evidence I have that she knows anything about the Kuzuryuu family is a set of files written by an alcoholic.

 

_So, in a week, you’ve made one student cry, lied to another one about bunnies, and neglected all of the other ones because Kyousuke told you to investigate the school… why would anyone think you were good at this, Chisa?_

 

“I told him to do it.”

 

“What?!” I blurt out, and I don’t know if it’s out of shock or horror.

 

_The yakuza… um, if the files are correct, Pekoyama grew up with them, so she… and Kuzuryuu… are going to have kind of a screwed-up sense of normalcy and morality? But that doesn’t explain Koizumi…_

 

“Kuzuryuu had no desire to kill his sister’s killer until I convinced him into giving into his desire for revenge.” she continues, and it sounds like she’s telling me that the sky is blue, not that she convinced her childhood friend to _murder someone._

 

_I’m going to find that therapist who used to go to school here, and ask her if she can counsel everyone I’ve ever taught. It’s like every student in this school needs help, but every adult is blind to the truth._

 

“I am the only one who should be blamed for the murders.” Pekoyama says, before walking away from the table. As soon as she leaves, I grab my phone and call Kyousuke, for I’ve found _something,_ but I wish I was still blind to the truth.

 

* * *

 

_Hope’s Peak Academy Closing Upon Murder Cover-Up, Staff Arrested And Questioned._

 

“I… I did the right thing, didn’t I?”

 

“Chisa, you-”

 

“Three of my students are on trial for murder because of me.” I answer, as we walk away from Hope’s Peak. “Kyousuke, I… you still could’ve saved it, and then I ruined everything….”

 

_Also, why did you call me Chisa?_

 

“The school was experimenting on a student because they wanted to see if talent could be artificially created. If their sense of morality is that skewed, I think it’s beyond saving.” he answers, but I don’t know if he’s just saying that to make me feel better.

 

_Nanami’s a witness for that case, isn’t she? So that’s the fourth student who’s in court, and… I’ve abandoned all of them. I chose the man I love over the students I teach, and this is the fallout._

 

“Chisa, it’s not your fault, okay?”

 

“I guess…” I answer, as he takes my hand and we walk out the gates to the school. It’s exactly what we did on our last day of school, but this time, it’s the end of Hope’s Peak Academy….

 

“You know that saying about how every end is a new beginning?” Kyousuke asks, as we sit down on a bench.

 

“I thought I was the one who brought up sayings.” I answer.

 

“Well, this one is ours.” he says, and maybe he’s right. I don’t know where the world will go from here or what’ll happen to my students, but we can always create a bright and better future.

  
  



End file.
